Season-opening loss reality check for Copperheads

Published 5:30 am, Thursday, April 12, 2007

When analyzing the challenges and problems the Copperheads must address after their 54-13 blowout loss to Florida last week in the teams' AF2 season-opener at the Berry Center, offensive coordinator Todd Hammel suggested the obvious: scoring more points.

"We have to score. It's all about scoring possessions in this league," Hammel, who played 14 years of Arena Football with 10 teams, said. "In arena football you can't let this happen like that. That's a good learning experience for all these guys. It's a different beast out there. A lot of guys got indoctrinated.

"We just have to re-group. We'll be a lot better tuned offense next week and put some points on the board and get us a win, hopefully."

Game two for the Copperheads is Saturday on the road against Bossier-Shreveport.

Texas fell behind 19-0 three minutes into the second quarter and never recovered as the Firecats, the preseason favorite to win the AF2 title, lit up the airways with five touchdown passes in the first half and capitalized on three pass interceptions thrown by rookie quarterback Tony Eckert.

It may have been a good thing that a crowd of only 2,756 was on hand to witness the assault by Florida as the game was played on Good Friday with most area school districts having as much as a four-day weekend. All other home games will be played on Saturday nights and one on a Sunday afternoon.

Eckert, who was the starting quarterback at SMU in the 2004-05 seasons, also didn't help himself by fumbling four times, losing three. One fumble was returned by Florida for a 25-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, and the other three came on the exchange of the snap from center.

Eckert also stumbled for a loss on another snap from center in the first half and seemed to be dazzled by the bright lights of arena ball.

"I have no excuse. Three interceptions and I don't know how many fumbles," Eckert said. "It was a rough night and a learning experience. I'm very confident in my abilities as a quarterback and I can lead this team to a lot of wins. All I have to say is just stick with us and it will get a lot better."

Despite his performance on the field, Eckert insisted that he wasn't nervous starting his first game in arena ball.

"I wasn't nervous. When I got out there I was just trying to think too much," Eckert said. "The DBs didn't do anything different than what I had seen on film. It was just the first game."

Copperheads coach Bryan Blake was disappointed with the game results but still has confidence in Eckert and of his team to bounce back at Bossier-Shreveport.

The Battle Wings, who finished 3-13 in 2006, began their season last Saturday with a 67-52 win over Fort Wayne at home. Quarterback Quincy Carter, who once started for the Dallas Cowboys, made his debut and passed for six touchdowns. Ja'Maar Toombs, who played for Texas A&M, is another prominent name on the roster for Bossier-Shreveport.

"He's still our quarterback. I still think he's our guy," Blake said concerning Eckert. "He's got a great arm and when he can learn to read the defenses, he's going to be OK. But, he's going to have to learn it pretty quick."

Defensively, the Copperheads need to improve on their pass coverage, as the league averages 90 percent of its plays through the airways on the 50-yard field.

"We played too soft, too far back," Blake explained. "Half the time the receivers (Florida) were just jogging their routes and our guys were just falling off. We kept telling them to step up. So, we have to tighten up our coverages.

"We have some fast DBs and they just need to trust themselves that they can recover and make plays. It's just too timid, but that comes from not playing. You have to come up and hit somebody in the mouth."

One bright spot for Texas was the play of wide receiver Jarrod Fuller, formerly of Sam Houston State and the third-leading all-purpose yardage leader for the Southland Conference in 2004.

Fuller scored the first touchdown, coming on a 12-yard catch in the second quarter. He ended the game with three receptions.

"It felt good, we needed it. We needed it bad," Fuller said. "I think we're just looking for motivation. We need to break the ice. First time under the lights at home, it was just the turnovers, a fumble, a penalty kind of threw us. Other than that, I think we learned a lot about ourselves. We didn't quit when we were down by 40, we still came back and played hard."

Fuller added that the difference of outdoor football didn't seem that much as the game progressed.

"It's still football," Fuller said. "It's a little different because you're closed in and you're surrounded by walls, but it's still just a football game to me."